Skip to main content

Occupational exposure to metal compounds and lung cancer. Results from a multi-center case–control study in Central/Eastern Europe and UK

Cancer Causes & Control volume 22, Article number: 1669 (2011) Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

To study the association between occupational exposure to metals including chromium, cadmium, nickel, and arsenic compounds, within a population-based study design, while adjusting for confounding factors.

Methods

A population-based lung cancer case–control study in Central/Eastern Europe and UK was conducted in 1998–2003, including 2,853 cases and 3,104 controls. Exposure to 70 occupational agents was assessed by local expert-teams for all subjects. Odds ratios (OR) for exposure to dust and fumes/mist of chromium, nickel, cadmium, arsenic, as well as inorganic pigment dust and inorganic acid mist, were adjusting for smoking, age, center, sex, and exposure to other occupational agents including the metals under study.

Results

Exposure to arsenic (prevalence = 1.4%) was associated with an increased lung cancer risk ((OR) 1.65, 95% confidence interval (95% CI):1.05–2.58). For chromium dust (prevalence = 4.8%, OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 0.95–1.65), a linear upward trend for duration and cumulative exposure was observed. A weak association was observed for exposure to cadmium fumes (prevalence = 1.8%, OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.77–1.82), which was strongest for the highest category of cumulative exposure (OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.07–3.90). No increased risk was observed for inorganic acid mist, inorganic pigment dust, or nickel, after adjustment for other metals. An independent effect of nickel cannot be excluded, due to its collinearity with chromium exposure.

Conclusions

Occupational exposure to metals is an important risk factor for lung cancer. Although the strongest risk was observed for arsenic, exposure to chromium dust was most important in terms of attributable risk due to its high prevalence.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. IARC (1980) Some metals and metallic compounds. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  2. International Agency for Research on Cancer WHO (1987) Overall evaluations of carcinogenicity: an updating of IARC monographs volumes 1 to 42. IARC, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  3. IARC (1990) Chromium, international agency for research on cancer. Nickel and Welding, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  4. IARC (1993) Beryllium, cadmium, mercury, and exposures in the glass manufacturing industry. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mannetje A, Fevotte J, Fletcher T et al (2003) Assessing exposure misclassification by expert assessment in multicenter occupational studies. Epidemiology 14:585–592

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Fabianova E, Szeszenia-Dabrowska N, Kjaerheim K, Boffetta P (1999) Occupational cancer in central European countries. Environ Health Perspect Suppl 107:279–282

    Google Scholar 

  7. Siemiatycki J, Wacholder S, Richardson L, Dewar R, Gerin M (1987) Discovering carcinogens in the occupational environment. Methods of data collection and analysis of a large case-referent monitoring system. Scan J Work Environ Health 13:486–492

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Ferlay J, Shin H, Bray F, Forman D, Mathers C, Parkin D (2010) GLOBOCAN 2008, Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 10 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2010. Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr

  9. Cassidy A, t Mannetje A, van Tongeren M et al (2007) Occupational exposure to crystalline silica and risk of lung cancer: a multicenter case-control study in Europe. Epidemiology 18:36–43

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Carel R, Olsson AC, Zaridze D et al (2007) Occupational exposure to asbestos and man-made vitreous fibres and risk of lung cancer: a multicentre case-control study in Europe. Occup Environ Med 64:502–508

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Olsson AC, Fevotte J, Fletcher T et al (2010) Occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and lung cancer risk: a multicenter study in Europe. Occup Environ Med 67:98–103

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Scelo G, Constantinescu V, Csiki I et al (2004) Occupational exposure to vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile and styrene and lung cancer risk (Europe). Cancer Causes Control 15:445–452

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Blair A, Stewart PA (1992) Do quantitative exposure assessments improve risk estimates in occupational studies of cancer? Am J Ind Med 21:53–63

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Dewar R, Siemiatycki J, Gerin M (1991) Loss of statistical power associated with the use of a job-exposure matrix in occupational case-control studies. Appl Occup Environ Hyg 6:508–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Langard S (1993) Role of chemical species and exposure characteristics in cancer among persons occupationally exposed to chromium compounds. Scan J Work Environ Health 19(Suppl 1):81–89

    Google Scholar 

  16. Gibb HJ, Lees PSJ, Pinsky PF, Rooney BC (2000) Lung cancer among workers in chromium chemical production. Am J Ind Med 38:115–126

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Mancuso TF (1997) Chromium as an industrial carcinogen. Am J Ind Med 31:129–139

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Gerin M, Siemiatycki J, Richardson L, Pellerin J, Lakhani R, Dewar R (1984) Nickel and cancer associations from a multicancer occupation exposure case-referent study: preliminary findings, 53 edn. pp 105–115

  19. Beveridge R, Pintos J, Parent ME, Asselin J, Siemiatycki J (2010) Lung cancer risk associated with occupational exposure to nickel, chromium VI, and cadmium in two population-based case-control studies in Montreal. Am J Ind Med 53:476–485

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Shen HM, Zhan QF (1994) Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect Suppl 102:275–282

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Sorahan T, Burges DC, Waterhouse JA (1987) A mortality study of nickel/chromium platers. Br J Ind Med 44:250–258

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Sorahan T (1987) Mortality from lung cancer among a cohort of nickel cadmium battery workers: 1946–84. Br J Ind Med 44:803–809

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Sorahan T, Burges DC, L Hamilton, Harrington JM (1998) Lung cancer mortality in nickel/chromium platers, 1946–95. Occup Environ Med 55:236–242

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. ICNC (1990) Report of the international committee on nickel carcinogenesis in man. Scan J Work Environ Health 16:1–82

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hayes RB (1997) The carcinogenecity of metals in humans. Cancer Causes Control 8:371–385

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Stayner L, Smith R, Thun M, Schnorr T, Lemen R (1992) A dose-response analysis and quantitative assessment of lung cancer risk and occupational cadmium exposure. Ann Epidemiol 2:177–194

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Kazantzis G, Lam TH, Sullivan KR (1988) Mortality of cadmium-exposed workers. A five-year update. Scan J Work Environ Health 14:220–223

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Siemiatycki J (ed) (1991) Risk factors for cancer in the workplace. CRC Press, Boca Raton

  29. Thun MJ, Elinder CG, Friberg L (1991) The scientific basis for an occupational standard for cadmium. Am J Ind Med 20:629–642

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Hu SW, Hertz-Picciotto I, Siemiatycki J (1999) When to be skeptical of negative studies: pitfalls in evaluating occupational risks using population-based case-control studies. Can J Public Health 90:138–142

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. IARC (1992) Occupational exposures to mists and vapours from strong inorganic acids and other industrial chemicals. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The study was partially funded by the European Commission’s Inco-Copernicus Programme (Contract No. IC15-CT96-0313). In Warsaw, the study was supported by a grant from the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (Grant No. SPUB-M-COPERNICUS/P-05/DZ-30/99/2000). In Liverpool, the work was funded by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, UK. Andrea ’t Mannetje and Tony Fletcher worked on this study under the tenure of a Special Training Award and a Visiting Scientist Award from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Gilles Ferro and Noémie Travier contributed to data management.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France

    Paul Brennan & Tony Fletcher

  2. Centre for Public Health Research, Wellington Campus, Massey University, Private Box 756, Wellington, New Zealand

    Andrea ’t Mannetje

  3. Institute of Carcinogenesis Cancer Research Centre, Moscow, Russia

    David Zaridze

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland

    Neonila Szeszenia-Dabrowska

  5. National Institute of Environmental Health, Budapest, Hungary

    Peter Rudnai

  6. M Sklodowska-Curie Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland

    Jolanta Lissowska

  7. Regional Authority of Public Health, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

    Eleonóra Fabiánová

  8. Roy Castle Lung Cancer Research Programme, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Adrian Cassidy

  9. National Institute of Public Health, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Mates

  10. Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Vladimir Bencko

  11. Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Masaryk Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lenka Foretova

  12. Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Vladimir Janout

  13. Epidemiological Research and Surveillance Unit in Transport, Occupation and Environment (UMRESTTE), Université de Lyon, Lyon, France

    Joelle Fevotte

  14. International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, France

    Paolo Boffetta

  15. The Tisch Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Paolo Boffetta

Authors
  1. Andrea ’t Mannetje
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vladimir Bencko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paul Brennan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. David Zaridze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Neonila Szeszenia-Dabrowska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Peter Rudnai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jolanta Lissowska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Eleonóra Fabiánová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Adrian Cassidy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Dana Mates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Lenka Foretova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Vladimir Janout
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Joelle Fevotte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Tony Fletcher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Paolo Boffetta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea ’t Mannetje.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

’t Mannetje, A., Bencko, V., Brennan, P. et al. Occupational exposure to metal compounds and lung cancer. Results from a multi-center case–control study in Central/Eastern Europe and UK. Cancer Causes Control 22, 1669 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9843-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9843-3

Keywords

  • Lung neoplasms
  • Occupational exposure
  • Metals
  • Case–control study
  • Confounding